The Overlooked Connection Between Food Waste and Global Food Security: A Narrative Review

Introduction and Objective: Food waste is a significant global challenge that has considerable impacts on food security, the environment, and the economy. This phenomenon is predominantly observed at the consumer and retail levels in developed countries, while in developing countries, it mainly occurs in the post-harvest and processing stages. The aim of this study is to examine the factors influencing food waste reduction at the consumer level, including food packaging design, shopping list preparation, behavior across different age groups, and food marketing. Methods: This review was conducted through a systematic search in databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar without any time constraints. A combination of relevant terms and keywords was used to identify related articles. The results of the search were screened by titles and abstracts, and the relevant articles were included in the review. We aimed to evaluate all aspects of the topic covered in this study. Findings: The study found that food waste occurs primarily due to unplanned shopping, inappropriate packaging, and marketing strategies. In this context, large packaging and bulk sales promotions lead to purchasing more than needed, ultimately resulting in more waste at home. Moreover, issues related to expiration dates and labeling practices encourage consumers to discard food that is still safe to eat. Conclusion: Food waste is influenced by various factors. Major contributors include unplanned shopping, large packaging, and bulk sales promotions, all of which increase waste at the consumer level. Better packaging design, especially packaging that facilitates proper storage, can play a significant role in reducing food waste. Reducing food waste is a crucial step toward strengthening global food security and requires multi-faceted efforts at the consumer, producer, and policymaker levels.

کلیدواژه ها:

Food waste ، Food security ، Consumer behavior